“146k cybertruck orders so far, with 42% choosing dual, 41% tri & 17% single motor,” Musk said in a tweet, adding that the orders were achieved without any advertising or paid endorsements.

The launch of the cybertruck, which Musk has described as “a really futuristic-like cyberpunk, Blade Runner pickup”, suffered a very public setback when its “armored glass” windows shattered in a much-anticipated unveiling.

The overall look of the futuristic electric vehicle worried Wall Street. On Friday, Tesla’s share price plummeted 6%, bringing Musk’s still immense personal net worth down by $768m in a single day, according to Forbes.

After the disastrous launch, Musk tweeted a video of a successful test of the windows.

“Franz throws steel ball at cybertruck window right before launch,” he wrote, referring to the design chief, Franz von Holzhausen, who threw the balls that broke both windows in public.

“Oh my fucking God,” Musk said then. “Maybe that was a little hard.”

In his tweet after the launch, Musk added: “Guess we have some improvements to make before production haha.”

Placing an order costs $100, which Tesla says is fully refundable. Musk said 17% of the orders were for the single-motor model, 42% were for the dual-motor version and 41% were for the tri-motor model.

The company has said the cybertruck will be in production in 2021, starting at $39,900, or £30,700.